i care that we didn't grow old together
by poisonrationalitie
Summary: Ginny still visits.


**A/N For the Quarterly Event 'Hogwarts Sticker Album', Halloween #2: Gravestone: Write about visiting someone's grave.**

**Warning for mild language.**

**Wordcount: 1049**

Hogsmeade Cemetery had been a home for deceased wizards and witches for hundreds of years. It had rather the same air about it as the village proper; it was quaint and small, well-cared for. Fresh flowers bloomed atop most of the graves in maintained vases, although for many they were not the only memorial. Walking through the rows, you got to know the former residents of the town. One man's resting place was decorated with a boat and a lighthouse, as well as a childish drawing of a fish - by the dates on the headstone, likely a grandchild. A copy of 'A History of Magic' was propped up on a woman's, along with a Ravenclaw scarf draped over the top, partially obscuring the surname.

Even in the summer, it was cold here. Once, Ginny had been used to it, spending most of the year here, but now it was more of a distant memory. She was a southern girl, through and through, and aside from Hogwarts, had never lived anywhere north of London in all her years. Until now, at least. She pulled her coat around her tighter.

The route of pilgrimage was familiar. The section was marked out well, and shimmered with the strength of several enchantments, to prevent damage and vandalism. It sent a cold chill down her spine that the spells were considered necessary, but at the same time, she was glad they were there. This part of the cemetery had become the final destination of twenty-four of those who had fallen in the final battle, in age order. That meant that he was right at the front.

A camera sat across the top of the marble, aged but undamaged, thanks to magic. It wasn't his - that had gone to his younger brother - but it was one similar, a muggle relic, the sort her dad loved. Copies of copies of photographs were stuck down with sticking charms, though a few enchantments had weakened enough that the photos had come loose, sliding down onto the grass. With a sharp inhale, Ginny crouched down, retrieving the photos from their new homes amongst the blades and putting them back. A copy of one of Harry's biographies had also been left there, signed by her husband himself. Upon one of their previous visits, the couple had left it there.

"Hi, Colin," she said. "It's good to see you. You'll be seeing more of me; and Harry, which I bet you'll love. We're moving, see. Harry's been offered a job here. Well, at Hogwarts, I mean. Thank Godric. He's getting too old for that Auror schtick now, even mainly training. He'll be sixty-one next week. Can you believe it? Harry Potter, sixty-one? He's nearly totally grey. Not as handsome. No, I'm kidding, Col, he's great." She tapped the marble affectionately, grinning. Smile lines crinkled around her eyes. She let herself laugh, looking to the sky briefly, and then back at the headstone of one of her best friends.

"It'll be weird, being back here. Not here, with you, I mean, but just, in Hogsmeade. Even when I come to visit, on the anniversary, or to see Neville or whatever, it's just - it's weird, you know? But I'll be alright. I know I will. It's just a bit odd. Harry's going for the Defence role, by the way. It was always his best subject. Remember when we were placing bets on what O. he was going to get? I can't believe you won that. I really thought he'd do better at Potions! But then again, Snape." She rolled her eyes. "Old habits die hard. I mean, I just think of Snape the Professor being an old grump. Severus is the war hero, but Snape? I can't get him out of my head. Who would've ever thought that Harry would suggest naming his son after Snape? Col, you must be spinning in your grave. I bet Snape is too. But you should be used to it by now. He's old. He and Scorpius are looking at having another baby, actually. A little brother for Henry. It's mad how far magic has come, isn't it? It's very expensive, though." Ginny snorted. "Some days, I don't know how Harry became the father-in-law of a Malfoy. How _I _became the mother-in-law of a Malfoy."

The wind ruffled the photographs, though they didn't move, and it almost seemed like Colin was laughing. "Shut up," she told him, in the very same voice she'd used to use when he'd babble on about her getting married to The Boy Who Lived one day, when they were first years following him around and sharing nervous giggles when he looked their way. Ginny reached into her coat. "I bought some more photos. I'll take the old ones. You must be getting sick of looking at that picture of me and Harry from Valentine's Day. It was a bit of a sappy choice, I'll admit, but Lily liked it." She waved her wand, undoing the previous sticking charms, and then whispered the incantation to summon them all back to her. They stacked themselves neatly, and they replaced the newer pictures in her pocket.

She arranged them across the marble. There was one of her and Luna, both greying, at an animal protection dinner. Another was of Harry with his hands on Sadie's waist, holding her onto a broom that was way too large for her. There was Ginny and Demelza and Andrew, all former classmates of Colin's, clinking their 'CLASS OF '98' mugs together and laughing. She rubbed on the spot where he should've been in the photo. "I miss you, still," she said. "Nobody else takes pictures as well as you did, not even with all the new stuff they've developed. Godric, Col, you'd love it. Bet you'd know how to make my wrinkles disappear on the camera," she chuckled.

Her knees were beginning to ache, and she stood, dusting herself off. "Sorry it's a short visit. Harry and I will be back tomorrow. He wants to meet me for lunch." She tapped the watch on her wrist. "He'll be on his way. Love you, Col. Rest easy, hey? And enjoy not having arthritis. It's a bitch." She patted the headstone, and made her way out of the cemetery.


End file.
